Daire Brehan
Encyclopedia
Daire Brehan is an Irish
actress, broadcaster
and barrister
who presented a variety of BBC Radio
programmes during the 1990s including Language Live, for BBC Radio 5
, You and Yours
, The Afternoon Shift (1995–98) and Pick of the Week for BBC Radio 4
, a documentary
Too Many Songs on American
comic songster Tom Lehrer
for BBC Radio 2
, Pick of the World for BBC World Service
, and Today’s Agenda for BBC Radio Kent
.
Prior to her broadcasting career, she worked as an actress. Following a scholarship to the Contemporary Theatre of Wroclaw in Poland
, she returned to Ireland in 1985 and co-founded, with director Maciek Bernatt-Reszczynski, the theatre company Theatre Unlimited, acting in many productions which included work inspired by modern Eastern European theatre and the Irish cultural tradition.
Her broadcasting work began with RTE Radio 1
, for whom she presented programmes including Sounding Out and Brehan’s Law, the latter drawing on her earlier legal training. As an undergraduate in the 1970s at Trinity College Dublin her law tutors included the current Irish President, Mary McAleese
, and former Irish President and UN Commissioner, Mary Robinson
. Moving on from BBC Radio 4 in the late 1990s, she returned to the law to convert her Irish law degree to meet UK requirements and was called to the Bar in July 2002 under her birth name Daire Brennan-Holahan, subsequently practising in criminal defence and prosecution. As a prosecutor she appeared on behalf of the National Probation Service and Local Authorities in prosecutions in the Crown Court, and as a defence barrister she represented clients on a wide array of charges. She is a member of the Inner Temple and is the founder and Hon Secretary of the Inner Temple Residents' Association. She was called to the Bar of the Republic of Ireland in 2005.
Since April 2007, while continuing to work as a consultant trainer to the legal profession, she also works as a qualified Pilates
Instructor and holistic
massage
therapist.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
actress, broadcaster
Broadcast journalism
Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are "broadcast", that is, published by electrical methods, instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. Broadcast methods include radio , television , and, especially recently, the Internet generally...
and barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
who presented a variety of BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
programmes during the 1990s including Language Live, for BBC Radio 5
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
, You and Yours
You and Yours
You and Yours is a British radio consumer affairs programme, broadcast on BBC Radio 4.-History:It began broadcasting in October 1970, its first presenter was Joan York. In the great rescheduling of April 1998 it was increased from a 25 minute programme to 55 minutes. In the 1980s it briefly ran...
, The Afternoon Shift (1995–98) and Pick of the Week for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, a documentary
Radio documentary
A radio documentary or feature is a purely acoustic performance devoted to covering a particular topic in some depth, usually with a mixture of commentary and sound pictures. It is broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD...
Too Many Songs on American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic songster Tom Lehrer
Tom Lehrer
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, mathematician and polymath. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater...
for BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
, Pick of the World for BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
, and Today’s Agenda for BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Kent.It broadcasts on FM on 96.7 , 97.6 and 104.2 also 774 and 1602 MW and DAB.- History :The radio station was launched in 1970 under the name of BBC Radio Medway, originally only serving the...
.
Prior to her broadcasting career, she worked as an actress. Following a scholarship to the Contemporary Theatre of Wroclaw in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, she returned to Ireland in 1985 and co-founded, with director Maciek Bernatt-Reszczynski, the theatre company Theatre Unlimited, acting in many productions which included work inspired by modern Eastern European theatre and the Irish cultural tradition.
Her broadcasting work began with RTE Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...
, for whom she presented programmes including Sounding Out and Brehan’s Law, the latter drawing on her earlier legal training. As an undergraduate in the 1970s at Trinity College Dublin her law tutors included the current Irish President, Mary McAleese
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese served as the eighth President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. She was the second female president and was first elected in 1997 succeeding Mary Robinson, making McAleese the world's first woman to succeed another as president. She was re-elected unopposed for a second term in...
, and former Irish President and UN Commissioner, Mary Robinson
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson served as the seventh, and first female, President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. She first rose to prominence as an academic, barrister, campaigner and member of the Irish Senate...
. Moving on from BBC Radio 4 in the late 1990s, she returned to the law to convert her Irish law degree to meet UK requirements and was called to the Bar in July 2002 under her birth name Daire Brennan-Holahan, subsequently practising in criminal defence and prosecution. As a prosecutor she appeared on behalf of the National Probation Service and Local Authorities in prosecutions in the Crown Court, and as a defence barrister she represented clients on a wide array of charges. She is a member of the Inner Temple and is the founder and Hon Secretary of the Inner Temple Residents' Association. She was called to the Bar of the Republic of Ireland in 2005.
Since April 2007, while continuing to work as a consultant trainer to the legal profession, she also works as a qualified Pilates
Pilates
Pilates is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates in Germany, the UK and the USA. As of 2005, there were 11 million people practicing the discipline regularly and 14,000 instructors in the United States....
Instructor and holistic
Holistic health
Holistic health is a concept in medical practice upholding that all aspects of people's needs, psychological, physical and social should be taken into account and seen as a whole. As defined above, the holistic view on treatment is widely accepted in medicine...
massage
Massage
Massage is the manipulation of superficial and deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue to enhance function, aid in the healing process, and promote relaxation and well-being. The word comes from the French massage "friction of kneading", or from Arabic massa meaning "to touch, feel or handle"...
therapist.